Cathay Pacific inspects Airbus A350 fleet after engine part failure

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways,  said on Monday it had started inspecting all its Airbus A350 jets after the in-flight failure of an engine component, sending shares in British engine supplier Rolls-Royce  down sharply.
The carrier said it had cancelled 24 return flights operating until the end of Tuesday, and that a number of aircraft would be out of service for several days while the process, which it described as precautionary, was completed.
An Airbus spokesperson referred questions to the airline and to Rolls-Royce , which said it was aware of the incident and was committed to working closely with Cathay, Airbus and authorities conducting an investigation.
Shares in the company – the sole engine provider for the Airbus A350 family of long-haul jets – closed down more than 6% and dragged Europe’s defence and aerospace index down 2.8%
According to Flightradar24 data, the problem apparently unfolded several minutes after take-off as flight CX383 initially headed out over the sea, south of Hong Kong.
Instead of immediately turning north for the roughly 12-hour journey to Zurich, the aircraft performed two wide circles before returning to Hong Kong where it landed safely about 75 minutes after take-off, according to the tracking data.
Cathay did not describe the failed engine component in detail but said it was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide.
“Thus far we have identified a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced. Spare parts have been secured and repair work is underway,” it said.
A person familiar with the matter said the incident involved a problem with a fuel nozzle, a component that directs fuel inside the engine.- Reuters